


Tales from the Spirit Realm

by Hierophantastic



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Agni and La are siblings, And the moonbis typically female as well, Brother-Sister Relationships, But Trickster Gods are also the best, But if were talking greek poseidon was a guy, I love that guy, I mean the ocean is always called a she, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Koh is definitely Best Spirit Ever, Like selene and artemis, Lionturtles are spirits, Not Canon Compliant - The Legend of Korra, Original Mythology, Original Spirits, Raava and Vaatu are different than in TLoK, Spirit World, Spirits, Spiritual, Tui and La re definitely both women, Which is Probably Not Canon Compliant, because why not, but it is in this fic, creation myths, so the seas not always a gal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-22 10:57:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22915120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hierophantastic/pseuds/Hierophantastic
Summary: This is my made-up AtLA spirit lore, because there's not enough of that yet, beside 'Agni loves Zuko lots and helps him'.Seriously. Why aren't there more fics about Koh or Wan Shi Tong and just spirit shenanigans in general? They're awesome.
Relationships: Agni & Dragons, Agni & La, Koh & Mother of Faces, La/Tui (Avatar), Raava & Vaatu
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	Tales from the Spirit Realm

**Author's Note:**

> I gotta say, writing mythology like this is seriously fun. Laws of nature? Never heard of 'em.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first part of this chapter is a little poem about the Nine Great Spirits so you know who they are, because they'll probably make up the main cast of this story. Skip it if you want, i'm not a great poet anyway and i'm fairly certain I screwed up the metre. 
> 
> The second part is the creation of the world. It's pretty dry, sorry. Next story will be better.

_The first was Raava, the start of all you see_  
_Matter and order, light and beginnings_  
_One of two, first half of infinity_

_The second is Agni, sun in the heaven_  
_Brother of La, with children fourteen_  
_Spark in our souls, fire and passion_

_The third is Bodhi, wind in the skies_  
_Peaceful chaos, eye of the hurricane_  
_Breath in our lungs, humble and wise_

_The fourth is Tui, lover forlorn_  
_Moon in the sky, alone in the night_  
_Light in our eyes, guide in the storm_

_The middle is Koh, with thousand feet minus one_  
_Stealer of faces, who dwells in his twilit lair_  
_Lord of the Borders, the ruler of dusk and dawn_

_The sixth is La, moonlight-kissed seas_  
_Wrathful storms, mirror-calm surface_  
_Blood in our veins, the tie that binds families_

_The seventh is Hiko, foundation of nations_  
_Earthen prince, with ancient pride_  
_Bones in our bodies, strength and patience_

_The eighth is Inari, fortune and fertility_  
_Soil for our grains, life for our babes_  
_Mother of nature, shifting shapes fluidly_

_The last is Vaatu, end of eternity_  
_Void and chaos, darkness and endings_  
_Second of the pair, second half of infinity_

* * *

In the beginning there was infinity. And then, something tore it apart.

Out of the light, a spirit crept. It was large, with nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine chitinous legs, one of which it had used to cut itself out of the border between existence and non-existence. Where its face should be was a single, grey eye that imprisoned anything it looked at into eternal stone, a life without death, and a mouth filled with sharp teeth. It swung its head back and forth without direction or purpose, unseeing, because there was nothing to see yet. The light was obstructed by the spirits large body and on the other side, where it couldn't reach, a shadow appeared.

Raava, Koh, and Vaatu.

Raava and Vaatu, the two parts of infinity, paralleled one another in every way. Where Raava was light, Vaatu was darkness. Raava was order, and Vaatu was chaos. Raava was the beginning and Vaatu the end. All other spirits came from Raava and Vaatu, each one bearing one or several aspects from them. Except for Koh, who was the middle. Koh lurked on borders and edges, the realm between life and death, between dark and light.

First Raava made Agni, a being of pure fire, and gave him light, warmth, and life. Vaatu gave Agni the need to burn, to destroy anything he got too close to. Then Bodhi took his first breath, four-armed and already old when he was born. Raava gave him kindness, peace and humility, and Vaatu gave him knowledge, haste, and his unpredictable nature. Tui came third of the elemental spirits, her form a pure white light, but then she caught Koh's gaze and was forever encased in radiant, pale white stone. Yet her mind remained and even though she was just born she already knew she was missing something. Raava gave her guidance, so she could be a beacon in the dark for those who needed it, and love. Vaatu gave her loneliness, desire, and loss.

Now the Sun, the Air, and the Moon were drifting aimlessly in the void, doing nothing but avoiding Koh's gaze. 

The Ocean flooded the darkness, and both Agni and Tui felt a connection. Agni had to avoid the water or it might douse his fire, and he knew this was an equal, the one thing he wouldn't be able to burn or melt. His sister, La. Tui's lonely heart lifted when she saw the Ocean approach her and the lovers united in their first and last complete embrace. Raava gave La love for her family and calm, which Vaatu countered with deception, change, and vengeful rage.

But their embrace was brief, because when Hiko, the earthen giant, appeared he brought the earth with him and pulled La away from Tui. She fell down to earth, where she filled the empty oceans. Hiko was given strength, patience, and nobility by Raava, and stubbornness, pride, and arrogance by Vaatu. Now the earth was covered in La's waters and warmed by Agni's fire, plants began to grow. Inari was born. A woman with a fox-like head, her sharp teeth and nose belonging more to a creature of the woods. Raava gave her growth and new life, and from Vaatu she received fortune and dominion of the wilds.

More spirits came, in all shapes and sizes. Lionturtles, tricksters, benevolent and malevolent spirits, each one different, but still an aspect of Raava and Vaatu, the two parts of infinity. But these were lesser spirits who wandered the world the Nine Great Spirits had made without purpose or goals, or even self-awareness. The Mother of Faces was crafted from a tall tree grown by Inari, the white light of Tui, and a spark of Agni's fire. The Mother of Faces wandered around the young world, giving spirits a piece of her work, and an identity with it.

Eventually she came upon Koh, spirit of twilight and decay, in a hole underneath a young sapling, faceless and alone. His many feet were the only things leaving traces in the muddy earth, for no other spirit dared to approach him out of fear they'd be turned to stone. "Oh, you poor child," the younger spirit said. Koh would snort sarcastically if he were capable of it.

"I am older than you, Mother of Faces. I am older than all of you. I was the first to crawl into existence," he said instead, not turning to look at her. The Mother of Faces smiled at him with sympathy.

"And yet, you are younger than all of us. You were here before the world came to be and have not seen the slightest of it. How long will you hide in a hole, Koh?"

"As long as it takes for this accursed eye to stop turning everything I look at to stone," he spat out.

"Then led me craft you a different face," the younger spirit offered. "One that will allow you to look at the world as it is without petrifying it, and I will show you everywhere I've been. This world is a magnificent place."

Koh agreed, and was pleasantly surprised when her plan worked. As he crawled out of his hole, he saw Agni high in the sky, and smiled. The earth under his feet was solid and he remembered the sight of Hiko pulling the flat disc out of nowhere. His sight had not worked on them, because they were already made of stone. When night fell and Tui graced the sky, he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of guilt. He hadn't meant to turn her to stone. But the Mother reassured him it was alright, and when Koh tried to offer his apologies to the Moon, she waved him away.

"Do not worry," she'd said, "My mind is not trapped here, merely my body. If anything I should thank you for allowing me to feel La embrace me at least once." And that was that. La herself agreed with her lover.

"If only could bring a small piece of me to her, it would be perfect. But she's so far away," the Ocean would sigh. Koh could not help her with that. He might have a different face, but his body was not made for aerial travel.

The Mother took him to see Bodhi, who was hard to find on the best of days as the Wind blew every way his arms could point, but he seemed to have a soft spot for the mountainous heights, which was where they found him. He had a staff these days, Koh noticed, and a flute hung around his neck. Koh asked him if he could help Tui and La.

"I'm sorry," Bodhi said. "The Moon is a bit too far away, even for me. The heavens are Agni's domain, but his hands are not able to hold anything."

Disappointed, Koh continued travelling with his mother. "Don't be sad," she'd say. "They see each other every night." 

She took him to see Hiko next. The giant had not changed a bit from what he remembered. He was tall, with features chiselled out of earthly stone and his brow decorated with jewels that shone in the Sun. The only difference was the moss that hung off of him, as if he was wearing a robe. He was sleeping when the two of them approached. As soon as they were in earshot he slowly blinked one eye open, grunted a greeting, and went back to sleep.

Finally, there was Inari. The fox-woman was growing a forest when they found her, casting out random seeds and humming a tune under her breath. Koh could have sworn she glared at him as they approached. "Greetings, Koh the Decaying," she called out, "and greetings, Mother of Faces. What brings you here?"

Koh scowled. He should have known the spirit of growth wouldn't enjoy having the spirit of decay trample over her new sown seeds. Mother replied in his stead. "I was merely showing Koh around the world, now that he could witness it without petrifying it."

Inari nodded. "Well, these are my plants, but they haven't grown much yet. Good day." They didn't linger after that.

Mother brought him to a mountain, one not so high that clouds obscured the view, but high enough that you could see the world in front of them. "This is the world, Koh. What do you think of it?"

Koh thought for a moment. Inari was below, seeding her forests. Hiko was probably sleeping somewhere, and he could feel Bodhi in the breeze that disturbed the grass plains in the distance. Further away was La, waiting for her lover as her brother was just going down behind the edge, far, far, away. Twilight came.

"I think it will be fun," Koh said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a bit of info on the characterisation of the spirits:
> 
> Vaatu here is different from tLoK Vaatu. Here he is the spirit of chaos and endings, and while not really evil like canon Vaatu, it's just in his nature to sow discord. A bit like Loki in the Norse myths. He's not evil, he's just a little shit who doesn't really have any respect for life. Similarly, Raava is not the same either. These two are the most powerful, because together they're basically everything.
> 
> Sarutahiko Okami is the leader of the earthly kami in the japanese shinto religion, and yes, I just ripped a part out of his name and made him a spirit. Hiko means prince, according to my extensive research (wikipedia). The Earth Kingdom also seemed to put a lot of value on wealth and stature, so he's a prince.
> 
> And you could of course say Bodhi came from Bodhisattva, but you could also say I'm a huge Star Wars fan and thought Rogue One was a great movie.
> 
> Inari Okami was a Japanese goddess of fertility, fortune and foxes, but that's about all they have in common. This one is a bit more nature-based and doesn't do anything with tea, merchants or blacksmiths.
> 
> I based La a lot on Katara, with how important family was to her and the way she could hold a grudge. The deception part is more about the sea being treacherous and all that.
> 
> The rest I just kinda pulled out of my ass.

**Author's Note:**

> List of appearing spirits so far:
> 
> Inari, spirit of fertility and plantlife, a shapeshifter
> 
> Agni, spirit of Fire and life, also Literally The Sun
> 
> Bodhi, spirit of Air, wisdom, and humility
> 
> Hiko, spirit of Earth, strength, patience, and nobility
> 
> Tui, spirit of the Moon, romantic love, guidance, and loss
> 
> La, spirit of the Ocean, family/familial love, vengeance, and deception
> 
> Vaatu, spirit of chaos, discord, imbalance, and endings 
> 
> Raava, spirit of order, peace, balance, and beginnings (heh)
> 
> Koh, spirit of twilight, decay, borders, and twilight
> 
> Mother of Faces, spirit of faces and identity


End file.
